About Me

Originally a geologist by training, I now work as a museum professional. My passion is old photographs, the photographers who took them, the equipment and technologies they used, the people and scenes in the photos, and the stories behind them.

I was sent this photograph of a funeral scene a couple of years ago by Rachel Thomson, who wrote:

I found it in my parents' estate and no one seems to know its origins. It's morbidly fascinating as it's of a child's funeral. It could quite well be taken in Scotland. What is interesting is the reflections of peoples faces in the glass hearse. I thought someone might have a theory of its origins.

I did have a good look at the photograph at the time, and did some research into horse-drawn hearses, but didn't come to any conclusions as to location, and didn't feel that I had anything useful to contribute. Then, I'm afraid the query was neglected under the usual pile in my Inbox.

The image chosen for the Sepia Saturday this week is of a quite different topic, in a generalised sense, but Alan chose to make a point of the contrasting action within. I think this photograph shows similar qualities, and it is easy to be drawn into the scene. It depicts what must be the funeral of a young child, the funeral party arranged for the photographer around a horse-drawn hearse, which is itself parked in front of a long, single-storey building.

Detail of funeral group: the central characters

The "morbidly fascinating" aspect of the image centres around the tiny open white coffin, held by two young men at a slightly alarming angle, obviously so that the well-draped deceased baby would be in full view of the camera lens. This group of five each hold a silver candlestick. I'm not familiar enough with funeral rites and accoutrements to know whether these are characteristic of any particular denomination. I found this account of Scottish Burial Customs, but it makes no mention of candlesticks.

Detail of funeral group: the grieving parents

On the left of this central group are a couple who I suspect are the parents of the deceased child. Their eyes are turned downwards, but perhaps they are primarily concerned with how their older child, shown below, is managing with her candlestick. The woman's hair and clothing style, including the wide lace collar, lead me to tentatively suggest a date of perhaps the late 1870s or early to mid-1880s.

Detail of funeral group: the big sister

The child dressed in white, with a frilly bonnet and her mouth partly hidden by a ribbon or flower posie, is perhaps two to three years old and could easily be an older sibling of the dead child. She looks cautiously at the photographer.

Detail of funeral group: the coffin bearers

The two young men holding the child's coffin - actually only one of them seems to have a good grip on it - could be uncles of the deceased. They are both holding candlesticks and while one faces directly into the camera lens, the other is more intent on something off to the left - perhaps the the child's mother is his sister. Be

Detail of funeral group: the supporting cast

To the right there is a large group of young men, two or three of who are holding candlesticks and are holding up the decorated coffin lid, and one young woman. The latter's face is partly hidden in this image, but her dress is visible in the larger image above. All face the photographer except for one on the left who looks down at the lid.

Detail of funeral group: faces through the glass

Just visible through the glass of the hearse - and therefore probably standing behind it - are the ghostly faces of at least four, possibly five, women, and potentially another man. In light of the Scottish custom of the burial at the cemetery only being attennded by the menfolk, mentioned in the previous reference, it's interesting to note that most of the men are off to the right, and the women behind the hearse.

Detail of funeral group: the undertaker and his horse

The undertaker in his spotless coat and top hat, and the horses with their shiny polished bridle and harness, are off to the right. Yes, there are two horses, although one is pretty well hidden - look at the shadows. The undertaker, no doubt doubling as driver of the hearse, has his hands behind his back, and is probably holding the reins to keep the horses still. Leaning against the wall at the left is a dustpan with a handle, which may or may not have something to do with the horses.

Detail of funeral group: Finial on hearse

I found images of several horse-drawn hearses of a similar shape to the one in the photograph, but one feature renders it a little unusual. The hearse appears to be of a design that was more or less standard during the latter half of the 19th Century, but I've not been able to find anything similar to the five carved finials attached to its roof. Finials were not always used, but when they were present they were usually turned, and thus with a circular-section, or carved into shapes resembling drapery, rather than this square-section form.

The building itself is constructed from roughly shaped and dressed stone, with a slate roof bordered at the left with lead flashing, and topped by two stone chimneys, each with two pottery chimney pipes. The three visible glazed windows each have substantial wooden shutters on iron hinges, suggesting to me that the location may be a coastal one which commonly experiences adverse weather conditions. There is an open doorway behind the hearse, only just visible over the top of it.

My commentary is therefore long on observation, and rather short on both interpretation and conclusion. I'd welcome further contributions from readers, please, because I'm a little bereft of ideas to progress the investigation at the moment. Perhaps you have a different reading of the way people are standing and interacting with each other? Please leave your comments below, and then head over to Sepia Saturday 91 to enjoy the other interpretations of this week's theme.

I think you illustrate the point I was trying to make perfectly. There is a whole film script there in your chosen image - a film script that you develop and bring out to perfection. A thoroughly enjoyable post (as always)

Interesting example of funerary art and a great story written in the photo as Alan said.

Your Guide to Cemetery Research by Sharon DeBartolo Carmack may give a little help in dating the funeral but the timing may be somewhat different there than here. "Between the 1840s and 1880, the most common style of postmortem photograph was intended to deny death.... Starting in the 1880s through the early 1910s, it became more common to photograph the deceased's entire body, usually in the casket."

Candles are a symbol of life and a burned out one the symbol of the end of life. But, I found no mention of them in relation to funeral practices. I don't know about the finials on the casket but plumes were used as an indication of status in the late nineteenth century. Again from Carmack's book, 1 plume - poor, 2 plumes - moderate, 3-4 plumes - fairly well to do, 5-6 plumes - well off and 7-8 plumes wealthy.

This is very interesting. I often wonder why we can't/don't take pictures at funeral services, though I take plenty afterward because the family is all together. My Grandma looked great and at peace ... but I didn't have my digital camera then and wouldn't have wanted to be thought strange by alarming the girls at Walmart by taking her photo in her casket.

I totally enjoyed your post ... and it fits in so well with Alan's "a picture is worth a thousand words" theme of this week.

As always a thoroughly absorbing post, but I have to say I found the subject matter unsettling. Pictures of dead babies, in whatever context, sepia funerals or war-torn countries today, are always sad. A life snatched away before it’s begun.

A fascinating photo with that tantalizing sense that with just the right clue the mystery could be solved. Perhaps there are old trade catalogs of carriages, which might help with a general date and place, or maybe even a history of chimney pots? Alas, some photos will never reveal all their secrets, but even so, this one is still a great example of forgotten traditions.

Quite a post! It was the custom of my relatives of the other generation to take pictures of the person in the casket. I have never had the yen to do so. But I do remember other relatives later pouring over the pictures and sharing all kinds of memories of the one that had passed on.....

You are very observant. Your observations are interesting, and I like the way you picked out sub-pictures and groups. I'm not quite convinced that there are two horses, although I seever something in the shadows.

Liz - I appreciate your reference to the Cemetery Research book, which would elaborate on the whole question of funerary traditions and customs. I'll have to hope to find something similar on Archive.org or Google Books for the moment.

Oregon Gifts & Howard - No, I can't imagine taking a photograph of a deceased person now, except in a documentary/news story situation, and even then I think I'd rather someone else do it.

Nell - Yes, I felt much the same way, until I started looking at the detail, and some of the discomfort vanished as I felt myself more and more part the scene.

Mike Brubaker - If I found a book about the history of chimney pots, I think I might just buy it, sight unseen!

Rosie - I don't know if it's a particularly North American thing, but I have come across a lot of supposed portraits of dead people from the 19th century. It seems kind of strange to me.

Postcardy - Well possibly not, but then it's a horse of a variety I've not come across before, with four front and four back legs ;-)

Rachel - Yes, it's quite possible/likely, I shouldn't have been so hasty to label the child a girl. Oh and thanks for the opportunity to use the wonderful image.

I would say this was a family of means. If this child had died during an epidemic or some time of illness that took a lot of folks, mostly children, the family would probably just trudged along with a funeral of several folks at once. You wove an interesting story abased on what was evident in a still photo alone.QMM

That open coffin is the first thing I noticed and wondered, oh my, what if the body had fallen out. Lots of information you have shared topped off with the quote of fast fading flowers. Very interesting.

I'm never quite sure how I feel about images like this. I'm interested in the history, but can't put away the emotional angst at the sorrow being displayed. I don't think I've ever seen an image with so much happening.

I have been completely taken over by this post! I started looking into the use of candles at funerals and came across:"The word funeral, properly speaking, denotes a torchlight procession, for it is derived from the Latin "funeralis " from funis, a torch. It was at one time the general practice to bury at night by torchlight, and long after this was discontinued, torches or candles were carried in the funeral procession and were placed about the body, from the moment of death till the time of burial."

I found it at http://www.sacred-texts.com/etc/fcod/fcod07.htm

I think the easiest way of distinguishing the two horses is by the two headbands.